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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap..^r^.O_ __. 

Shelf '.^^.'l.Tl,. 

UNITED STATES OP AMEEIOA. 




HERNANDO DE SOTO, 



Engraved for iKe Bradford Club New York 1865 



polo's Ifatdi tiifougl) ^koi*0ia. 



R 



HERNANDO DE SOTO. 



THE ADVENTURES ENCOUNTERED AND THE ROUTE PURSUED BY THE ADELANTADO 

DURING HIS MARCH THROUGH THE TERRITORY EMBRACED WITHIN 

THE PRESENT GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS OF THE 

STATE OF GEORGIA. 



V 






CHAREES C. {ONES, IR 



[read BEFORE THE GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.] 



PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 




J. H. ESTILL, 

MORNING NEWS STEAM PRINTING HOUSE. 

SAVANNAH, GA., 1880, 



TO 

THE HONORABLE 

CHARLES JONES JENKINS, 

OF 

Augusta, Georgia, 
this tract is affectionately inscribed. 



DE SOTO IN GEORGIA. 



Flushed with the distinction he had won as a Captain in 
Nicaragua, enriched by spoils gathered while a Lieutenant 
General in the conquest of Peru, envious of the greater fame 
of Pizarro, anxious to achieve victories grander and more 
startling, and thirsting for booty more abundant, Hernando 
De Soto sought and obtained from the Spanish Crown a 
concession to subdue and settle all the region from the river 
Palmas eastwardly to the "Island of Florida," including the 
Tierra nueva adjoining it on the ocean. Northwardly this 
domain was without specific limit, and might be indefinitely 
enlarged by discovery and occupancy. Over it he was to 
preside as Governor and Captain General, with the dignity 
of Adelantado for life, and High Sheriif in perpetuity to 
his heirs. 

"For the purpose," — so wrote the king, — "you will take 
from these our kingdoms, and our said Indias, five hundred 
men, with the necessary arms, horses, munitions, and military 
stores ; and that you will go hence, from these our kingdoms, 
to make the said conquest and settlement within a year first 
following, to be reckoned from the day of the date of these 
articles of authorization; and that when you shall leave the 
Island of Cuba to go upon that enterprise, you will take the 
necessary subsistence for all that people during eighteen 
months, — rather over than under that time, — entireh' at your 
cost and charges." * * * 

As great gain was anticipated, the Crown was careful to 
reserve to itself, for the first six years, one-tenth of all gold 
which should be realized from mines : and of that i^recious 



metal, obtained bj barter or as spoil during incursions, one- 
fifth was to be paid into the royal treasury. 

Eemembering the treasure trove in Peru, his Majesty was 
further pleased to enjoin that to his tribunal and exchequer 
should belong one-half of the gold, silver, stones, pearls, and 
other articles of value which might be taken from the graves, 
sepulchres, ocues, temples, religious precincts, public places, 
or private hoards of the natives. 

To facilitate him in the subjugation and retention of this 
possession, and that he might the more easily command a 
convenient base of operations and supplies in the conduct 
of this great undertaking, De Soto was commissioned by the 
King, his master. Governor of Cuba. 

Having, with much deliberation, selected and enlisted six 
hundred men, competent in every respect and thoroughly 
equipped, in April, 1538, the Adelantado set sail upon his 
mission. Passing over the bar of Sanlucar on Sunday, — the 
morning of Saint Lazarus,- he sought the open sea amid 
the braying of trumpets, the thunders of artillery, and the 
shouts of thousands. The expedition presented the aspect 
of a hohday excursion. Every heart on board was imbued 
with the spirit of adventure, confident of success, and per- 
suaded that the Land of Flowers would yield greater riches 
than the homes of the Incas. So general was the belief, 
entertained in Spain, of the wealth of the region, that the 
proudest of the land craved permission to be represented in 
the adventure either in person or by proxy. In the compo- 
sition of this band we find explanation of the spirit of en- 
durance and wonderful courage which characterized it 
during its eventful career. 

On Pentecost De Soto arrived with his command in the 
harbor of Santiago, in Cuba of the Antilles, and thence pro- 
ceeded to Havana. Here he remained, perfecting his ar- 
rangements, until Sunday, the 18th of May, 1539; when, 



with a fleet of nine vessels, — five of them ships, two caravels, 
and two pinnaces, — he sailed for Florida, Delayed by con- 
trary winds, it was not until the 25tli, being the festival of 
Espiritii Santo, that land was descried and anchor cast a 
league from the shelving shore. On Friday, the 30th, the 
army debarked at a point two leagues from the town of the 
Indian chief Ucita Two hundred and thirteen horses were 
set on shore, the royal standard was elevated, and formal 
possession taken of Terra Florida in the name of Charles V. 
The camp was pitched upon the sands of Tampa Bay. 

This was the most brilliant, enthusiastic, and warlike as- 
semblage which, up to that period, had ever been seen this 
side the Atlantic. Herrera says De Soto had, of his private 
fortune, contributed one hundred thousand ducats for the 
equipment of this expedition. This little army was com- 
posed of men accustomed to wars, of personal daring, skilled 
in the use of weapons, and inured to hardships. Scarcely a 
gray head. appeared among them. Their arms were strong, 
and their breasts filled with visions of glory and wealth. It 
was confidently believed that this new and unexplored King- 
dom of Florida would exceed in riches the realms of Atahu- 
alpa, during the conquest of which De Soto had received, as 
his individual share of the spoils, the enormous sum of one 
hundred and eighty thousand crowns of gold. 

Many of the young cavaliers who now rallied around this 
standard carried in their veins the best blood of Spain. 
Their equipment was superb and their enthusiasm un- 
bounded. It was a strange sight, on the lonely shores of 
this new world, this convocation of soldiery in rich armor 
and costly dresses, of attending slaves, caparisoned horses, 
and burthen-bearing mules, — this assemblage of fleet grey- 
hounds, savage blood-hounds, and grunting swine, — this ac- 
cumulation of artillery, weapons, hand-cuffs, chains, neck- 



8 

collars, crucibles for refining gold, tools, instruments, and 
material of every needed sort. 

A valuable expenence, acquired during the invasions of 
Nicaragua and Peru, was utilized on the present occasion ; 
and the ample preparations made encouraged in the hearts 
of all hope of success more astounding than that which had 
characterized both those expeditions. 

Twelve priests, eight clergymen of inferior rank, and four 
monks, accompanied the army. In the thirst for conquest 
and gold the conversion of the Aborigines was not forgotten. 
Men of letters, who were to perpetuate the events of the 
march, were also present. 

With the wanderings of De Soto and his followers within 
the territorial limits of Florida, with the narrative of their bat- 
tles with the natives, with the difficulties encountered in the 
crossing of rivers and the passage of perplexing morasses, 
with the sore disappointment experienced in the quest for 
gold and precious stones in this low-lying semi-tropical 
region, and with the accounts of the privations endured, we 
have now no special concern, as our inquiry is limited to a 
recital of what transpired within the confines of the present 
State of Georgia. 

It may be stated, however, that after wintering at An- 
hayca, which was probably in the neighborhood of the 
modern town of Tallahassee,* De Soto, allured by a report 
of the existence of gold to the northward, determined to pro- 
ceed in that direction in search for that much-coveted pre- 
cious metal. Receiving an intimation that his march would 
extend for many leagues through a sparsely populated 
region, the Governor ordered his command to carry the 



* Portions of Spanish armor have been exhuniL'd in a ficKi adjacent to tliis 
city, and other European relics. have been found in this vicinity under circum- 
stances confirming the suggestion here made. 



9 

largest allowance of maize. The cavalrymen packed a lib- 
eral supply of this grain on their horses, and the foot- 
soldiers conveyed as much as they could conveniently bear 
upon their backs. This store had been pillaged from the 
native villages, and the Indians, whom the Spaniards had 
forced to act as burden bearers during their previous wan- 
derings and about the winter cantonment, had, in nakedness 
and chains, perished from hard usage. Sad is the record of 
the inhuman treatment meted out to the Aborigines by these 
Christian adventurers. Such was the utter contempt enter- 
tained for them by the Spaniards, that they hesitated not to 
subject them to every form of cruelty, humiliation, and pri- 
vation. The men were condemned to the office of beasts of 
burden. The women were misued and driven from their 
habitations. Supplies of all sorts were ruthlessly appro- 
priated. Even sepulchres were ransacked in the greedy 
search for pearls and hidden treasures. The path of the ia- 
vader was marked on every hand by death, ruin, and desola- 
tion. The demoralizing influences exerted upon this abo- 
riginal population by the inroads of the Spaniards cannot be 
overestimated. 

On Wednesday, the 3d of March, 1540, the army moved 
northward, its objective point being Yupalia, governed by a 
woman, whose chief city was reported to be of astonishing 
size. Of some Indians captured in Napetuca, the treasurer, 
Juan Gaytan, had brought to camp a lad who spoke know- 
ingly of this queen, of neighboring chiefs tributary to her, 
and of the clothing and gold with which they supplied her. 
So exactly did he describe the process of taking this metal 
from the earth, melting, and refining it, that the Spaniards 
came to the conclusion either that he had seen the whole 
affair with his own eyes, or that he had been taught of the 
Devil. Expectation was on tip-toe, and the belief was uni- 
versal that the land of gold was at hand. 



10 



On the fourth day of its march the army encountered a 
deep river, for the passage of which it became necessary to 
construct a periagua. So swift was the current that a chain 
was stretched from bank to bank for the guidance of this 
craft. By this means the soldiers and the baggage were 
crossed, and the horses directed in swimming the stream. 
We believe this to have been the Ocklockony river. De 
Soto had now arrived, or very nearly so, at the southwest 
boundary of Georgia. AVithin the next forty-eight hours the 
Indian village of Capachiqui was reached. At the approach 
of the Spaniards the natives fled ; but when five of the 
Christians visited some Indian cabins, surrounded by a 
thicket, in rear of the encampment, they were set upon by 
Indians, lurking near, by whom one was killed and three 
others were badly wounded. Pursued by a detachment from 
the camp, the natives fled into a sheet of water filled with 
forest trees, whither the cavalry could not follow them. 
Thus does the Gentleman of Elvas record the death of the 
first Spaniard who fell upon what is now the soil of Georgia. 

Departing from Capachiqui on the 11th, and traversing a 
desert, the expedition had, on the 21st, penetrated as far as 
Toalli. This region, which the historian designates as a 
desert, was doubtless a dreary pine barren, devoid of popu- 
lation and but little frequented by any animal life. The site 
of Toalli or Otoa cannot now be definitely ascertained; but, 
as it was near Acliese, or Ochis, (which, according to Mr. 
Gallatin, is the Muskhoge name of the Ocmulgee river,) we 
may not greatly err in locating it somewhere in Irwin, or 
Coffee county. 

Of the pecaliarities of this place the Gentleman of Elvas, 
whose narrative, in the main, we adopt, has perpetuated the 
following impressions : The houses of this town were differ- 
ent from those behind, which were covered with dry grass. 
Thenceforward they were roofed with cane after the fashion 



11 

of tile. They are kept very clean. Some have then* sides 
so made of clay as to look like tapia. Throughout the cold 
country every Indian has a winter house plastered inside 
and out, with a very small door which is closed at dark, and, 
a fire being made within, it remains heated like an oven, so 
that clothing is not needed during the night time. He has 
likewise a house for summer, and near it a kitchen where 
fire is made and bread baked. Maize is kept in barbacoa, 
which is a house with wooden sides, like a room, raised aloft 
on four posts. It has a floor of cane. The houses of the 
principal men, besides being larger than those of the com- 
mon people, had deep balconies in front, furnished with 
benches made of the swamp cane. Adjacent were large bar- 
bacoas in which were collected maize, the skins of deer, and 
the blankets of the country, offered as tribute by the popu- 
lace. These blankets resembled shawls, and were fashioned 
from the inner bark of trees, and from a certain grass which, 
when beaten, yielded a flax-like fibre.* They were used by 
the women as coverings. One was worn about the body 
from the waist downward. Another was thrown over the 
shoulders, leaving the right arm free after the manner of the 
Gypsies. The men were content with one, which was car- 
ried in like manner over the shoulders. The loins were cov- 
ered with a bragueiro of deer skin, after the fashion of the 
woolen breech-cloth once customary in Spain. These blan- 
kets were colored either vermilion or black. Garments of 
well-dressed deer skin were also in vogue, and shoes made 
of the same material. 

Three days were spent at Toalli : and, on Saturday, the 
24th of March, the expedition moved onward. Thiirsday 
evening, while crossing a small stream over which a bridge 
had been thrown for the passage of the command, Benito 
Fernandes, a Portuguese, was drowned. A short distance 

* This was evidently the tough silk ^rass of the region. 



12 

beyond this stream was located the village of Achese, whose 
inhabitants, upon the approach of the Europeans, plunged 
into the river and made their escape. Among some captives 
taken was found one who understood the language spoken 
bj the Indian who had acted in the capacity of guide to 
Tupaha. By him the Governor sent a message to the chief, 
dwelling on the further side of the river, desiring an inter- 
view witli hiin. Responding to the invitation, the Cacique 
appeared with words of courtesy and an avowal of friend- 
ship. Frankly thanking him for his good will, De Soto in- 
formed him that he was the child of the Sun,* coming from 
his abode, and that he was seeking the greatest prince and 
the richest province. The Chief replied that further on 
there reigned a powerful King whose territory was called 
Ocute. A guide, who understood the language of this pro- 
vince, having been furnished, the captives were set at liberty. 
Before leaving Toalli a high wooden cross was erected in the 
middle of the town-yard, and some effort made to instruct 
the natives in the doctrines of Christianity. 

Resuming his march on the first of April, De Soto moved 
along a river whose shores were thickly populated. On the 
fourth day he passed through the town of Altamaca, and on 
the tenth arrived at Ocute, If we are correct in our impres- 
sion, the march of the expedition had been in a northeast- 
erly direction, and the Spaniards were now probably in 
Laurens count3\ In the word Altamaca [or Altapaha as it 
is written by Biedma and also by Garcilasso de la Vega] we 
recognize one of the prominent rivers in Southern Georgia, 
and the many traces of early constructive skill, ancient relic 
beds, and old Indian fields along the line of that, and of the 
Oconee river, give ample token that in former times the abo- 



*This announcement, if credited, was calculated to make a jirofound impres- 
sion upon the natives, as the Florida Tribes, in the sixteenth century, were 
nearly all Sun-ivorshippers. 



13 



rigiual population cormorant here was by no means incon- 
siderable. 

While approaching Ocute, De Soto's command was met 
by two thousand Indians bearing, as a present from 
the Chief, many conies, partridges, bread made of maize, 
dogs, and two turkeys. Such was the scarcity of meat that 
the Spaniards welcomed this offering of dogs as heartily as 
if it had been a gift of fat sheep. In the language of the 
narrative from which we have quoted so freely : " Of flesh 
meat and salt in many places and many times there had 
been great need ; and they were so scarse that if a man fell 
sicke there was nothing to cherish him withall ; and with a 
sicknesse that in another place easilie might have been rem- 
edied, he consumed away till nothing but skinne and bones 
was left : and they died of pure Aveaknes, some of them say- 
ing ; ' If I had a slice of meate or a few cornes of salt, I 
should not die.' " 

The sufferings of these Spaniards were grievous and 
almost without interruption. On more than one occasion 
they were on the point of starving when relieved by the 
generous offerings of the natives. Surely these primitive 
inhabitants were hospitable peoples. In view of the harsh 
treatment dealt out to them by the whites we are little less 
than amazed at such exhibitions of charity and good will. 

While the Indians, through the apt use of their bows and 
arrows, supplied themselves abundantly with game, the 
Spaniards, less expert with their clumsy weapons, and on the 
march not daring to straggle, so craved meat that upon their 
entrance into a native village they at once set about killing 
every dog in sight. Should the private soldier, who had 
been so fortunate as to secure one of these animals, omit to 
send his Captain a quarter, he would surely be visited with 
displeasure and extra duty. 

Having obtained from the Cacique of Ocute four hundred 



14 

tamemes, or burden bearers, the Governor, on the twelfth of 
April, took his departure. Passing through Cofaqui he jour- 
neyed to Patofa, by the Mico of which he was hospitably 
entreated. 

While here the Indian youth, who had accompanied De 
Soto as his guide and interpreter, "began to froth at the 
mouth, and threw himself on the ground as if he were pos- 
sessed of the Devil." An exorcism having been said over 
him, however, the fit went off : at least so runs the story. 

Upon the Cacique of Patofa a contribution was levied of 
seven hundred tamemes and a four days' supply of maize. 
Thus aided, the expedition started, apparently in a north- 
easterly direction, following a path which gi-adually grew less 
and less distinct, until, at the end of the sixth day, all trace 
was lost in the midst of a wide-spreading pine barren. For 
three days more vainly seeking to acquire some valuable in- 
formation, and having marched continuously, the Governor 
called a halt and went into camp among the pine trees. 
During these nine days he had with difficulty forded two 
rivers, [sources of the Great Ogeechee ?J and swam another. 
[Briar Creek?] 

Accompanied by some cavalry and infantry, De Soto made 
a detour of some five or six leagues, looking for a path. He 
returned at night, having failed to find any inhabitants, quite 
dejected and sore perplexed. His command was in a sorry 
plight. The circumjacent country was a barren. No sign 
of human habitation appeared. The maize which his sol- 
diers had brought from Patofa was utterly consumed. Both 
beasts and men were lean and hungry. In this enfeebled 
condition resistance, in the event of an attack, seemed im- 
possible. Starvation and annihilation stared the expedition 
in the face. Unable longer to subsist the burthen bearers 
from Patofa, they were dismissed to make their way back to 
their homes as best they could. 



The next day, intent upon extricating himself from this 
perilous situation, the Governor sent out four expeditions, — 
each consisting of a captain and eight cavalrymen, — with 
instructions to scour the country and find some source of 
relief, some avenue of escape. The day was consumed in a 
fruitless search, and they all came into camp at night-fall 
leading their broken-down horses, or driving them before 
them. On the following day, having selected the best 
horses, and soldiers who could swim, he organized four 
bands, each containing eight mounted men, Baltasar de 
Gallegos, who commanded one, was directed to move up the 
river. Juan de Anasco, with another, was to move down- 
wards. Alfonso Eiomo and Juan Rodrigues Lobillo, with 
the other two, were ordered to strike into the country. 

The thirteen sows which had been brought from Cuba had 
so multiplied during the progress of the expedition, that 
there were now three hundred swine in camp. During this 
season of privation these animals were killed and a ration of 
a half pound of fresh pork was issued, per diem, to each 
man. This, supplemented by such native herbs as could be 
collected and boiled, constituted the only subsistence of the 
soldiery. Upon the rough grass, leaves, and the tops of pal- 
mettos, did the horses feed. The entire command was in an 
enfeebled, dispirited, and almost perishing condition. 

On Sunday afternoon [April 25th] Juan de Anasco, who 
was in charge of one of these reconnoitering parties, re- 
turned, bringing a woman and a youth whom he had cap- 
tured. He reported that at a remove of some twelve or 
thirteen leagues he had found a small town. At this intelli- 
gence, says the Gentleman of Elvas, the Governor and his 
people were as much delighted as if they had been raised 
fi-om death to life. 

Without awaiting the incoming of the other detachments, 
De Soto set out for this village, which the Indians called 



16 



Ajmay, and to which the Spaaiards gave the name of So- 
corro.* At the foot of a tree in the camp was buried a letter 
stating in what direction the command would march. That 
the attention of the absentees on their return might be 
called to it, on the bark of the tree were cut, with a hatchet, 
these words : " Dig here : at the foot of this pine you will 
find a letter." 

Following the road which Anasco had made while passing 
through the woods, the Governor set out on the morning of 
the 26th of April, taking with him his troopers Avho were 
best mounted, and moved as rapidly as he could in the direc- 
tion of Aymay. That village he reached before night-fall. 
The army followed, as best it could in its enfeebled condi- 
tion, straggling all the way. At this town a barbacoa of 
parched meal and maize was found, the contents of which 
were immediately issued to the starving command. 

Four Indians were captured who refused to give any in- 
formation touching the existence of any adjacent native 
villages. One of them having been burnt, another stated 
that at a remove of two days' journey was the province of 
Cutifachiqui. 

Two days afterward the three captains arrived with their 
detachments. On returning to camp they found the buried 
letter and followed on in the trail left by the army. Two 
soldiers remained behind, and they belonged to the detach- 
ment of Juan Rodriguez. Their horses had entirely given 
out and they lagged with them. After a severe reprimand 
from the Governor, this officer was dispatched to hurry up 
these loiterers. Without tarrying for their coming, De Soto 
advanced in the direction of Cutifachiqui. On his journey 
thitherward three Indians were taken who informed the 
Spaniards that the Queen of that province had been advised 
of the approach of the army and, in her chief town, was 

* Village of Good Relief. 



17 

awaiting tlie arrival of the strangers. One of them was im- 
mediately dispatched with a message of friendship from the 
Governor to the Oacica, and the announcement that he 
would speedily visit her. Upon the Governor's arrival at the 
river, four canoes approached from the opposite bank. In 
one of these was a kinswoman of the Cacica who had been 
by her deputed to extend an invitation to the Spaniards to 
cross over and partake of the hospitalities of the town. She 
excused the absence of the Cacica on the ground that she 
was engaged in giving directions for the reception of such 
distinguished guests. She returned with the thanks of the 
Governor. Soon after the Cacica came out of the village, 
seated in a chair of state,* which was borne by some of the 
principal men to the water's edge. Thence alighting, she 
entered a canoe, the stern of which was sheltered by an awn- 
ing. Cushions lay extended in the bottom, and upon these 
she reclined. In her passage across the river she was ac- 
companied by her chief men and other iscr ejects in canoes. 
Having landed, she approached the spot where De Soto 
awaited her, and addressed him with o rteous words of 
welcome. Drawing from over her head a long string of 
pearls she suspended it about the Governor's neck in 
token of amity. She also presented him with many shawls 
and dressed skins, constituting the clothing of her country. 
Finely formed, with great beauty of countenance, and pos- 
sessing much native grace and dignity, the Spaniards were 
impressed by her appearance and queenly conduct. During 
her interview with the Governor she sat upon a stool carried 
by one of her attendants. Her subjects preserved an un- 
broken silence and most respectful demeanor. She was the 



* In Plate xxxvii. of the " Brevis Narratio " we have a spirited illustration 
of the litter, or palanquin, in which the queens of these primitive peoples were 
conveyed. 

See also Jones' Antiquities of the Southern Indians, p. 72. New York. 1873. 



18 



first female ruler whom De Soto had met during all his wan- 
derings. The Governor was sensibly moved by her generous 
salutation and pleasing behavior. In acknowledgment of 
her beautiful gift, and as a pledge of peace and friendship, 
De Soto, drawing from his finger a ring of gold set with a 
ruby, gently placed it upon one of her fingers. The hospital- 
ities of her town were generously extended. She promised 
to share her store of maize with the strangers, and said that 
she would send canoes for their conveyance to the other 
side of the river. This ceremony of welcome ended, the 
Cacica returned to her home. On the following day, in 
canoes and upon rafts furnished by the natives, the army 
crossed to the further shore and found food and rest in wig- 
wams shaded by luxuriant mulberry trees. Four horses 
were drowned in the passage of the river. So soon as De 
Soto was lodged in the village man}' wild turkeys were sent 
to him, and during his sojourn in this place he and his men 
were entertained with every mark of hospitality. To be 
thus rested and feasted was most joyous to this band, foot- 
sore and weary, diappointed, dejected, and well nigh over- 
borne by the difficulties and privations of the journey. 

The inhabitants, well proportioned and of a good counte- 
nance, were more civilized than all other peoples seen in the 
wide-extended territory of Florida. They wore clothing and 
shoes. The country, in that early spring time, was beautiful, 
and gave every indication of fertility. The temperature was 
delightful, and the woods were most attractive. The Span- 
iards were particularly gratified with the profusion of walnut 
and mulberry trees. To all, save the Governor, it seemed good 
to form a permanent settlement here. The point appeared 
favorable for raising supplies ; and, as the natives stated it 
was only two days' journey from the coast, it was thought 
that ships from New Spain, Peru, Sancta Marta, and Tierra- 
Firme, going to Spain, might be induced to stop here and 



19 

refresh their crews. Thus ignorant were these strangers of 
their true geographical position. 

In the vicinity of Catifachiqui were large, vacant towns 
overgrown with grass. It was ascertained that two years 
before there had been a pest in the land ; and, in order to 
escape its ravages, multitudes of the inhabitants had re- 
moved to other localities. 

In the barbacoas were found " large quantities of clothing, 
shawls of thread made from the bark of trees, and others of 
feathers, white, gray, vermilion, and yellow, rich and proper 
for winter. There were also many well-dressed deer-skins, 
of colors drawn over with designs, of which had been made 
shoes, stockings and hose." 

Upon searching the sepulchres in the town three hundred 
and fifty weight of pearls, and figures of babies and birds 
made from iridescent shells, were taken from them. The 
suggestion of the Spanish narrators is that this quest was 
undertaken by permission of the Cacica, who observed how 
highly the Christians valued these gems of the water. When 
we remember, however, how ardently attached these primi- 
tive peoples were to the graves of their dead, how carefully 
they deposited in them the treasures of the deceased, how 
tenderly they watched over and sacredly guarded the last 
resting-places of their departed, we recognize in this proce- 
dure not the voluntary intervention of the native, but the 
cupidity, the violence, and the outrage of the foreigner. 

In the town were found a dirk and beads of European 
manufacture. From the best information which could be 
gathered touching their origin and the manner in which the 
Indians became possessed of them, it was believed that they 
had been obtained from some members of the unfortunate 
expedition of the Governor-licentiate Ayllon. Biedma says, 
in alluding to these relics, " We found buried two wood axes 
of Castilian make, a rosary of jet beads, and some false 



20 

pearls sucli as are taken from this country [Spain] to traffic 
with the Indians, all of which we supposed they got in ex- 
change made with those who followed the Licentiate Ayllon. 
From the information given by the Indians, the sea should 
be about thirty leagues distant. We knew that the people 
who came with Ayllon hardly entered the country at all : 
that they remained continually on the coast until his sick- 
ness and death. In strife for command, they then com- 
menced to kill each other, while others of them died of 
hunger ; for one, whose lot it was to have been among them, 
told lis that of six hundred men who landed, only fifty-seven 
escaped, — a loss caused to a great extent by the wreck of a 
big ship they had brought, laden with stores." 

Learning that the mother of the Cacica resided about 
twelve leagues down the river, and that she was a widow, 
De Soto expressed a strong desire to see her. This wish 
was doubtless born of the fact that she was reported to be 
the owner of many valuable pearls. Upon intimating his 
pleasure, the Cacica of Cutifachiqui dispatched twelve of her 
prominent subjects to entreat her mother to come and see 
the wonderful strangers and the remarkable animals they 
had brought with them. To these messengers the widow 
administered a severe rebuke, declined to accompany them, 
and returned to her daughter words condemnatory of her 
conduct. Still intent upon his object, De Soto dispatched 
Juan de Auasco, with thirty companions, to secure the 
presence of the queen mother. They were accompanied by 
a youthful warrior whom the Cacica selected as a guide. 
He was a near relative of the widow and had been reared by 
her. It was supposed that he of all others could best secure 
for the expedition a favorable reception. In the blush of 
early manhood he possessed handsome features, and a 
graceful, vigorous form. '* His head was decorated with lofty 
plumes of different colored feathers ; he wore a mantle of 



21 

dressed deer-skin ; in liis hand he bore a beautiful bow so 
highly varnished as to appear as if finely enameled ; and at 
his shoulder hung a quiver full of arrows. With a light, and 
elastic step, and an animated and gallant air, his whole ap- 
pearance was that of an ambassador worthy of the young 
and beautiful princess whom he served." 

What next befell the Spanish captain and his Indian guide 
we relate in the language of Theodore Irving, quoting from 
Herrera. 

"Juan de Anasco and his comrades having proceeded 
nearly three leagues, stopped to make their mid-day meal, 
and take their repose beneath the shade of some Avide- 
spreading trees, as the heat was oppressive. The Indian 
guide had proved a cheerful and joyous companion, enter- 
taining them all the way with accounts of the surrounding 
country and the adjacent provinces. On a sudden, after 
they had halted he became moody and thoughtful, and, 
leaning his cheek upon his hand, fell into a reverie, uttering 
repeated and deep-drawn sighs. The Spaniards noticed his 
dejection, but, fearing to increase it, forebore to demand the 
cause. 

"After a time he quietly took off his quiver, and placing 
it before him, drew out the arrows slowly one by one. They 
were admirable for the skill and elegance with which they 
were formed. Their shafts were reeds. Some were tipped 
with buck's horn, wrought with four corners like a diamond ; 
some were pointed with the bones of fishes, curiously fash- 
ioned ; others with barbs of the palm and other hard woods ; 
and some were three pronged. They were feathered in a 
triangular manner, to render their flight of greater accuracy. 
The Spaniards could not sufficiently admire their beauty ; 
they took them up and passed them from hand to hand, ex- 
amining and praising their workmanship and extolling the 
skill of their owner. The youthful Indian continued 



22 

tlioughtfally emptying his quiver, until, almost at the last, 
he drew forth an arrow with a point of flint, long and sharp, 
and shaped like a dagger ; then, casting round a glance, and 
seeing the Spaniards engaged in admiring his darts, he sud- 
denl}' plunged the weapon in his throat, and fell dead upon 
the spot. 

"Shocked at the circumstance, and grieved at not having 
been able to prevent it, the Spaniards called to their Indian 
attendants and demanded the reason of this melancholy act 
in one who had, just before, been so joyous. 

" The Indians broke into loud lamentations over the 
corpse ; for the youth was tenderly beloved by them, and 
they knew the grief his untimely fate would cause to both 
their princesses. They could only account for his self- 
destruction by supposing him perplexed and afflicted about 
his embassy. He knew that his errand would be disagree- 
able to the mother, and apprehended that the plan of the 
Spaniards was to carry her off. He alone knew the place of 
her concealment, and it appeared to his generous mind an 
unworthy return for her love and confidence thus to betray 
her to strangers. On the other hand he was aware, that 
should he disobey the mandates of his young mistress, he 
would lose her favor and fall into disgrace. Either of these 
alternatives would be worse than death ; he had chosen 
death, therefore, as the lesser evil, and as leaving to his 
mistress a proof of his loyalty and devotion. 

"Such was the conjecture of the Indians, to which the 
Spaniards were inclined to give faith. Grieving over the 
death of the high-minded youth they mournfully resumed 
their journey. 

" They now, however, found themselves at a loss about the 
road. None of the Indians knew in what part of the country 
the widow was concealed,-— the young guide who had killed 
himself being alone master of the secret. For the rest of 



23 

that day and until the following noon they made a fruitless 
search, taking prisoners some natives who all professed utter 
ignorance on the subject. Juan de Anasco being a fleshy 
man and somewhat choleric, was almost in a fever with the 
vexation of his spirit, the weight of his armor, and the heat 
of the day ; he was obliged, however, to give up the quest 
after the widow, and to return to the camp much mortified 
at having for once failed in an enterprise." 

Three days afterward, upon the offer of an Indian to 
guide him, by water, to the point where the widow had se- 
creted herself, Anasco, with twenty companions, departed in 
two canoes for the purpose of capturing her. At the end of 
six days he returned vexed and chagrined at the failure of 
his expedition. Thus did the queen's mother avoid the 
Spaniards and preserve her pearls. 

Still intent upon his quest for gold, in response to his in- 
quiries De Soto was told that there was here yellow, and 
also white metal, similar to that shown by the Spaniards. 
Natives were dispatched to bring samples of both. To the 
sore disappointment of the Christians, however, the yellow 
metal proved to be a copper ore, and the white metal a light 
crumbling material like mica. 

Turning his attention again to the pearls of the region, the 
Governor visited Talomeco, the former chief town of the 
province, distant about a league from the village of the Prin- 
cess of Cutifachiqui, where was a large mausoleum contain- 
ing many dead and a large store of pears. On this occasion 
he was accompanied by Anasco, — the contador, or royal ac- 
countant of the expedition, — by the officers of the royal 
revenue, and by a number of his principal officers and 
soldiers. 

The main edifice at Talomeco is described as being one 
hundred paces in length, and forty in breadth, with lofty 
roofs of reed. At its entrance were posted gigantic statues 



24 

of wood, carved with no inconsiderable skill, the largest 
being twelve feet high. Armed with various weapons, they 
maintained threatening attitudes and exhibited ferocious as- 
pects. The interior of the temple was filled with statues of 
various sizes and shapes, and with a great profusion of 
conclis and diffeient kinds of marine and fluviatile shells. 

"Around the sejjulchre were benches on which were 
"wooden chests, skillfully wrought, but without locks or 
hinges. In these were the bodies of the departed caciques 
and chieftains of Cutifachiqui left to their natural decay. * 
* * Besides these chests there were smaller ones, and 
baskets wrought of cane, which Avere filled wdth valuable 
furs, and Indian robes of dressed skins, and mantles made 
of the inner rind and bark of trees, and others of a species 
of grass, which, when beaten, was not unlike flax. There 
were others formed with feathers of various colors, which 
the natives wore during the winter. But above all, they 
contained pearls of every size and in incredible quantities, 
together with the figures of children and birds made of 
pearl. The Portuguese narrator saj^s they obtained fourteen 
bushels of pearls, and that the female Cacique assured them 
that if they searched the neighboring villages they might 
find enough to load all the horses of the army. Nor is the 
Inca less extravagant in his account." Biedma says : " We 
took from it " [the mosque] " a quantity of pearls of the 
weight of as many as six arrobas and a half, or seven, 
though they were injured from lying in the earth and in the 
adipose substance of the dead." 

While the existence of pearls upon the persons and in the 
graves of the natives of this region may not be questioned, 
it is highly probable that the accounts of the quantities of 
these glistening beads here found are exaggerated. The 
treasures of the New World were greatly magnified by these 
adventurers, Avho dealt largely in the marvelous, and sought, 



25 

b J glowing descriptions, to excite the wonder and enlist the 
sympathies of their friends at home. 

Shell heaps, — still extant along the line of southern rivers, 
upon the shores of ponds and lakes, and on the sea coast, — 
are not infrequent. Upon the animals which they contained 
did the Aborigines depend in no small degree for food, and 
the pearls thence obtained were industriously gathered and 
perforated to be worn as ornaments. Through aboriginal 
trade relations constant supplies were also procured from 
margatiferous shells of the Gulf of Mexico.* 

It was the purpose of the intendants of the revenue, who 
accompanied the expedition, to collect and preserve all the 
pearls found in these temples and graves, but upon a sug- 
gestion by the Governor that they could not conveniently be 
carried, and that at present they were simply engaged in an 
expedition for discovery, it was resolved that specimens only 
should be taken for exhibition in Havana, and that the rest 
should remain until such time as they might return and 
possess the land. Handfuls of large pearls were distributed 
among the officers, with an exhortation from De Soto that 
they make rosaries of them, and the Crown officers were 
allowed to retain quite a quantity which they had already 
weighed out. 

Adjacent to the great sepulchre were several buildings 
which served as armories. In them were deposited weapons 
of various kinds. They were under the charge of attendants 
who carefully watched and kept them in admirable order. 

So pleased were the soldiers with this goodly land, with 
its fruits and stores of pearls, that they urged upon the 
Governor the propriety of forming here a permanent settle- 
ment. But, in the language of the Gentleman of Elvas, 



* In further proof of tlie general use of pearls, as ornaments, among the 
Southern Tribes, see Jones' Antiquities of the SiUithern Indians, etc. Chapter 
XXI. New York. 1873. 



26 

" The Governor, since his intent was to seeke another treas- 
ure Hke that of Atabalipa, lord of Peru, was not contented 
with a good countrie, nor with pearles, though many of them 
were worth theii- weight in gold. And if the countrie had 
been divicled among the Christians, those which the Indians 
had "fished for afterward would have been of more value ; for 
those which they had, because they burned them in the fire, 
did leese their colour. The Governour answered them that 
urged him to inhabit, that in all the countrie there were not 
victuals to sustaine his men one moneth, and that it was 
needfull to resort to the port of Ocus, where Maldonado was 
to stay for them ; and that if no richer countrie were found, 
they might returne againe to that whensoever they would ; 
and in the meantime the Indians would sow their fields, and 
it would be better furnished with maiz. 

" He inquired of the Indians whether they had notice of 
any great lord farther into the land. They told him that 
twelve dales journie from thence there was a province called 
Chiaha, subject to the lord of Coga. Presently the Gover- 
nour determined to seeke that land. And being a sterne 
man, and of few words, though he was glad to sift and know 
the opinion of all men, yet after hee had delivered his owne 
hee would not be contraried, and alwaies did what liked 
himselfe, and so all men did condescend unto his will. And 
though it seemed an errour to leave that countrie (for others 
might have been sought round about, where the people 
might have been sustained untill the harvest had been 
readie there, and the maiz gathered), yet there was none 
that would say anything against him after they knew his 
resolution." 

We have thus traced the progress of the expedition from 
the southern confines of Georgia to the mulberry shaded 
town of Cutifachiqui. The general trend of the march was 
northeast, with manifestly many deflections which we have 



27 

found it impossible to pursue with any degree of accuracy.* 
From Anhayca to the point where the army is now resting 
the route has been, in our judgment, nearly parallel with the 
Atlantic coast, We believe the location of Cutifachiqui to 
have been identical with that of Silver Bluff, on the left 
bank of the Savannah river, about twenty-five miles by water 
below the city of Augusta. The river here impinges against 
a bold bluff, rising some thirty-five feet above the level of 
the adjacent swamp, and extending along the line of the 
stream, with an unbroken front, for the distance of nearly a 
mile. Bounding this high ground on the west is Hollow 
Creek. Stretching to the north is fertile upland. At this 
place were extensive Indian fields when the region was first 
visited and settled by Europeans. Three miles below, in a 
direct line, is another bluff upon the same side of the Savan- 
nah river, — not quite as bold as that where we now stand, — 
with an adjacent expanse of rich upland, which we suppose 
to be the site of Talomeco. Here also were old Indian 
fields, and manifest tokens of primitive occupancy. 

When, one hundred and three years ago, [April, 1776,] 
William Bartram visited Silver Bluft',t — then owned by 



* That the progress of the expedition was necessarily slow will be freely ad- 
mitted when it is remembered that it was traversing the depths of an unbroken, 
pathless forest permeated at irregular intervals by rivers, streams and swamps, — 
that its baggage and supplies were transported upon the backs of the soldiers 
and of Indian burthen-bearers, and that a drove of hogs kept pace with the 
march. 

f Four years afterward [1780], to the history of this somewhat famous 
locality was added a chapter whose incidents furnish a bright illustration of 
those partizan adventures and patriotic exploits which characterized the conduct 
of the Southern campaign during the war of the Revolution. 

The annual royal present for the Indians, consisting of powder, ball, small 
arms, liquor, salt, blankets and other articles of which the impoverished Conti- 
nentals stood sadly in need was, in May of that year, on deposit here, awaiting 
distribution. Two companies of infantry, detached from Colonel Brown's forces 
in Augusta, were then stationed in the stockade fort at this point, known as 
Fort Galphin, to guard this present. Made aware of this fact through the vigi- 
lance of his scouts, carefully concealing his movement, and leaving his artillery 



28 

George Galpliin, the famous Indian trader, — there were still 
extant " various monuments and vestiges of the residence of 
the ancients : as Indian conical mounts, terraces, areas, etc., 
as well as remains or traces of fortresses of regular forma- 
tion, as if constructed after the modes of European military 
architects, which are supposed to be ancient camps of the 
Spaniards who formerly fixed themselves at this place in 
hojjes of finding silver." 

These proofs of early constructive skill have, however, all 
disappeared. They have been obliterated by the plough- 
share and the changing seasons, and the most marked of 
them, occupying positions near the edge of the blufi^, have 
been swept away by the encroaching tides of the tawny-hued 



and the tired of his battalion under the command of Colonel Eaton, Lieutenant 
Colonel Henry Lee determined to press forward at once and secure these much 
coveted supplies for the American camp. Mounting a detachment of infantry 
behind his dragoons, by a forced march and unperceived by the enemy, on the 
2ist of May, 1780, he halted his panting squadrons beneath the pines which 
skirted the field in which Fort Galphin stood. The day was excessively sultry, 
and men and animals were so oppressed by heat and overcome by thirst that his 
little column was for the time incapable of further exertion. 

After a short rest Colonel Lee directed his dismounted militiamen to make, 
unobserved, the circuit of the fort, and to attack it from a point opposite to that 
which he then occupied. This strategy was invoked under the impression tliat 
the garrison would be enticed from the fort in their pursuit, and that thus the 
capture of the post by a rapid assault under his immediate supervision would be 
ensured beyond peradventure. As was anticipated, so soon as the militiamen 
debouched from the woods the garrison flew to arms and, rushing from the fort, 
proceeded to drive them away. Feebly resisting at first, they quickly retired 
before their pursuers, their retreat being covered by some cavalry previously dis- 
posed for that purpose. At this juncture a rapid advance under Captain 
Rudolph was ordered, and the assaulting column easily gained possession of 
the fort. 

In the language of the author of the " Memoirs of the War in the Southern 
Department,"* " the garrison, with the valuable deposit in its safe keeping, gave 
a rich reward for our toils and sufferings." 

The foundations of the old brick house which formed the residence of George 
Galphin, and which witnessed the prowess of the gallant Colonel of Cavalry 
and his brave troopers on that sultry May morning, may still be seen. 



* Vol. IL, p. 89 et seq. 

See also Jones' "Antiquities of the Southern Indians," p. 151 et seq. 



29 

Savannah. During the memory of an old inhabitant, more 
than one hundred feet in breadth of this bhiff have been 
eaten away and dissipated by the insatiate currents of this 
river. That the Spaniards were once here, was generally 
believed at the period of Bartram's visit, and the tradition 
has been handed down to the present day. But our intelli- 
gent traveller was manifestly at fault in ascribing some of 
these earthworks to the agency of Europeans. So far as we 
can discover, De Soto fortified no camps within the present 
limits of Georgia and left no enduring proofs of his occu- 
pancy. 

The presence of pyrites and of sulphurous nodules in the 
face of the bluif, and frequent particles and flakes of mica 
still attest the sources from which the Indians, in the days 
of De Soto, attempted to satisfy the Spanish craving for 
gold and silver. While it may be true that nuggets of native 
silver have been here found, as is stoutly asserted by some, 
the suggestion that this bluff derived its name from this cir- 
cumstance we deem quite improbable. We would rather 
ascribe the name to the tradition, derived from the Indians, 
and dominant here at the period of primal settlement, that 
many years before a band of white men had here come and, 
in the bed of the river and elsewhere in the neighborhood, 
made search for this metal. 

Those who have studied the route of De Soto are not 
agreed as to the precise location of Cutifachiqui. Thus, Dr. 
Monette places it on the peninsula formed by the confluence 
of the Broad and Savannah rivers. Dr. McCulloh thinks it 
was on the Ocmulgee river, in Monroe county. William 
Bartram, Colonel Albert James Pickett, Mr. Albert Gallatin, 
Mr. WiUiam B. Eye, Mr. Buckingham Smith, and Mr. J. 
Carson Brevoort all incline to the belief that at Silver Bluff 
WiS behold the site of the ancient village of Cutifachiqui. 
In this impression we sympathize. Mr. Theodore Irving, 



30 



too, appears to yield to this persuasion, while freely confes- 
sing how perplexing it is to "make out the route in con- 
formity to modern landmarks." 

During the latter portion of the Spanish sojourn at Cuti- 
fachiqui the Queen had become so much incensed at the 
outrages perpetrated by the Christians upon her subjects, 
that when advised by De Soto of his contemplated depar- 
parture, she utterly refused to furnish him with guides and 
tamemes. The Governor thereupon placed her under guard ; 
and, upon commencing his journey northward on the third 
day of May, he compelled her, on foot, escorted by her 
female attendants, to accompany him. Commenting upon 
this conduct of De Soto the Gentleman of Elvas remarks : 
This was not " so good usage as she deserved for the good 
wil she shewed and good eutertainement that she had made 
him. And he verified that old proverb which saith : ' For 
weldoing I receive evil.' " The present objective point of 
the expedition was Guaxule, situated near the northerly or 
northwesterly confines of the territory ruled over by the 
Cacica of Cutifachiqui. As her domains were quite exten- 
sive, De Soto trusted, through her presence and influence, to 
control the natives along the line of his march. In this ex- 
pectation he was not disappointed. " In all the townes 
where the Governour passed, the ladie commanded the 
Indians to come and carrie the burdens from one towne to 
another. We passed through her countrie an hundred 
leagues, in which, as we saw, she was much obeyed. For 
the Indians did all that she commanded them with great 
efficacie and diligence." Before departing from Cutifa- 
chiqui the army was organized into two divisions, the one 
commanded by the Adelantado in person, and the other 
under the guidance of Baltazar de Gallegos. Upon the 
second day the Spaniards encountered a storm of wind, 
lightning, and hail, so severe that, had they not sought the 



31 

close protection of the forest trees, many of them would 
have perished. The hail-stoties were as large as pigeon's 
eggs.* 

After a march of seven days the Province of Ohelaque was 
reached. In this name, with but slight alteration, we recog- 
nize the land of the Cherokees. According to Adair and 
others the national name was derived from Chee-ra — "/?re." 
Hence Cherakees, — Chelakees, Cherokees. 

The route had thus far, if we understand it aright, been 
upward and along the right bank of the Savannah river. De 
Soto was now, we think, within the confines of the present 
county of Franklin. The country was described as " the 
poorest off for maize " of any which had thus far been seen 
in Florida. The inhabitants were domestic, slight of form, 
and, at that season, quite naked. Upon the roots of phmts 
dug in the forests, and upon the animals destroyed with 
their arrows, did they chielly subsist. One of the chiefs 
presented the Governor with two deer-skins as a mark of 
friendship. Turkeys abounded. In one village seven hun- 
dred of these birds were given to the Spaniards ; and there 
was no scarcity of them in other localities. 

Five days were occupied in passing from this province to 
Xualla. The chief town of this last named province bore 
the same name, and was located on the flanks of a mountain 
with a small but rapid river flowing near. We venture the 
suggestion that this village was situated in Nacoochee vallev 
Habersham county, and that the mountain referred to was 
Yonah. In this valley physical proofs of primitive occu- 
pancy are still extant, and metallic fragments of European 
manufacture have there been found confirmatory of the fact 
that manj years prior to the settlement of this region by the 
whites, it had been visited by kindred peoples. We do not 
now allude to the remains of an ancient village, — the cabins 

* Herrera. 



32 

of which were made of logs hewn and notched by means of 
chopping axes, — unearthed by Colonels Merriwether and 
Lumsden in Duke's Creek valley in 1834, or to the traces of 
early mining in Valley Eiver valley, and adjacent localities, 
where deep shafts passing through gneiss rock, — their sides 
scarred by the impression of sharp tools, — and windlasses 
of post-oak with cranks and gudgeon holes were observed, — 
the trees growing above this old settlement and springing 
from the mouths and sides of these abandoned pits beiug 
not less than two hundred years old. These are to be 
re 'erred to the labors of Tristan de Luna, who, iu 1560, at 
the command of Louis de Velasco, came with three hundred 
Spanish soldiers into this region, and spent the summer in 
eager and laborious search for gold. This expedition moved 
up from Pensacola, and was dispatched on the faith of the 
representations, made b}^ returned soldiers from De Soto's 
command, of the presence of the precious metal among these 
mountains. We are informed by the German traveller, 
Johannes Lederer, that as late as 1669 and 1670 the Span- 
iards were emploj ed in working gold and silver mines iu the 
Appalachian mountains. 

Although little grain was found at Xualla, the Adelantado 
rested there two days that he might refresh his weary 
soldiers and recuperate his horses which were lean and 
sadly jaded. 

Apparently inclining his route westwardly, De Soto set out 
for Giiaxule, which marked the furthest confines, in that direc- 
tion, of the dominion of the Qaeen of Cutifachiqui. During 
this stage of the journey the Queen succeeded in making her 
escape into the forests. So thoroughly did she conceal herself, 
that efforts for her recapture proved fruitless. We are told by 
the Fidalgo of Elvas that she took with her a cane box, like 
a small trunk, called petaca, full of uubored pearls of great 
value. Up to the moment of her flight this precious box 



33 

had been borne by one of her female attendants. The 
Governor permitted this, hoping that when he reached 
Guaxule, — at which point he was minded to liberate her, — 
he would be able to beg these pearls of her. In her return 
homewards she was accompanied by three slaves who de- 
serted from the camp. A horseman, named Alimamos, who 
had been left behind sick of a fever, came upon these slaves 
and persuaded two of them to abandon their evil design. 
The third, however, — a slave of Andre de Vasconcelos, — 
remained with the Cacica. When Alimamos last saw them, 
they were living together as man and wife, and were together 
to return to Cutifachiqui. Such is the last glimpse we have 
of this Indian Queen whose welcome of and association with 
De Soto form one of the marked episodes in the nebulous 
story of this wonderful expedition. 

The country traversed during the five days consumed in 
marching from Xualla to Guaxule was mountainous, with 
intervening valleys " rich in pasturage and irrigated by clear 
and rapid streams." Much fatigue was encountered, and 
one day a foot-soldier, calling to a horseman who was his 
friend, drew forth from his wallet a linen bag in which were 
six pounds of pearls, probably filched from one of the Indian 
sepulchies. These he offered as a gift to his comrade, being 
heartily tired of carrying ihem on his back, though he had a 
pair of broad shoulders capable of bearing the burden of 
a mule. The horseman refused to accept so thoughtless 
an offer. "Keep them yourself," ' said he, "you have most 
need of them. The Governor intends shortly to send mes- 
sengers to Havana ; you can forward these presents and have 
them sold, and three or four horses and mules purchased for 
you with the proceeds, so that you need no longer go on 
foot." 

Juan Terr on was piqued at having his offer refused. 
3 



34 

"Well," said he, "if you will not have them, I swear I will 
not carry them, and they shall remain here." So saying, he 
untied the bag, and, whirling around, as if he were sowing 
seed, scattered the pearls in all directions among the 
thickets and herbage. Then putting up the bag in his 
wallet, as if it were more valuable than the pearls, he 
marched on, leaving his comrades and the other by-standers 
astonished at his folly. 

The soldiers made a hasty search for the scattered pearls 
and recovered thirty of them. When they beheld their 
great size and beauty, none of them being bored and discol- 
ored, they lamented that so many of them had been lost ; 
for the whole would have sold in Spain for more than six 
thousand ducats. This egregious folly gave rise to a 
common proverb in the army, that " There are no pearls for 
Juan Terron." The poor fellow himself became an object 
of constant jest and ridicule, until, at last, made sensible of 
his absurd conduct, he implored them never to banter him 
further on the subject. 

After a march of five days the army reached Guaxule. 
Upon the route, both men and horses had suffered from an 
insufficient supply of maize and of meat. When within half 
a league of the chief town of the province, De Soto was met 
by the Cacique or King, escorted by a band of five hundred 
warriors attired in decorated mantles of various skins, and 
adorned with feathers of brilliant hues. The interview was 
entirely amicable; and by him and his train was the Gov- 
ernor conducted to the village consisting of three hundred 
houses. It occupied a pleasant situation and was well 
watered by streams taking their rise in the adjacent 
mountains. The Adelantado was hospitably entertained at 
the dwelling of the Mico, which stood upon the top of an 
artificial elevation "surrounded by a terrace wide enough 



S5 

for six men to go abreast." The site of Guaxnle we believe 
to be identical, or very nearly so, with Coosmvattee Old 
Town, in the southeastern corner of Murray county. 

Perceiving that the Christians were killing and eating the 
village dogs, the native King collected and presented three 
hundred of them to the Spaniards. This animal was not 
used as an article of food by the Aborigines. On the con- 
trary, it was held in special regard. The constant com- 
panion of its master in his journeys through the forests, and 
in hunting and fishing, — a trusted guard about his camp- 
fires and at the door of the home lodge, — not infrequently 
were accorded to it rites of sepulture akin to those with 
which the owner was complimented. We wonder therefore 
at this gift, and are inclined to interpret it rather as a 
euphemistic statement that these dogs were appropriated by 
the strangers. 

Four days were here passed by the command. An Indian 
was dispatched with a message to the Chief of Chiaha re- 
questing that he would concentrate maize at that place, as it 
was the purpose of the Governor to tarry some time in that 
village. 

After two days' travel the town of Canasagua was reached. 
There is no good reason why we should not recognize in this 
name the original of that borne at the present day by the 
river Connasauga. This stage in the journey of De Soto we 
locate at or near the junction of the Connasauga and Coo- 
gawattee rivers, in originally Cass, now Gordon county. 
Before reaching this town he was met by twenty men from 
the village, each bearing a basket of mulberries. This fruit 
was here abundant and well flavored. Plums and walnut 
trees were growing luxuriantly throughout the country, at- 
taining a size and beauty, without planting or pi-uning, 
which could not be surpassed in the irrigated and well culti- 
vated gardens of Spain. 



36 

Following the course of the Oostanaula, and marching 
well nigh parallel with its left bank, the army moved in the 
direction of Cliiaha [Ychiaha, Ichiaha, China]. On the 
fifth day, when within two leagues of that town, fifteen 
Indians, bearing presents of maize, met the Adelantado. 
They convej^ed the salutations of the Cacique, and a 
message that he was in his village awaiting the arrival of the 
strangers. The}' further assured the Governor that twenty 
barbacoas, full of maize, were there subject to his orders. 
Chiaha was entered by the Spaniards on the fifth of June. 
Cordially was De Soto welcomed by the Cacique, who 
resigned to him the use and occupancy of his residence. 
Into his mouth the Gentleman of Elvas puts the following 
address : 

" PoicerfuJ and Excellent Blaster : 

"Fortunate am I that you will make use of my services. 
Nothing could happen that would give me so great content- 
ment, or which I should value more. From Guaxule you 
sent to have maize for you in readiness to last two months : 
you have in this town twenty barbacoas full of the choicest 
and best to be found in all this country. If the reception I 
give is not worthy so great a prince, consider my youth, 
which will relieve me of blame, and receive my good will 
which, with true loyalty and pure, shall ever be shown in all 
tilings that concern your welfare." 

To these words the Governor responded feelingly, assuring 
the young Chief that he was greatly pleased with his gifts 
and kindness, and that he would always regard him as a 
brother. 

De Soto had now reached the confluence of the Etowah 
and the Oostenaula rivers. The ancient village of Chiaha 
has been supplanted by the modern city of Kome. The 
town is described as situated between two arms of a river 



37 

and seated near one of them. Both branches were then 
fordable, and the meadow lands adjacent to their banks were 
rich. Maize fields appeared on every hand. There was 
an abiindance of lard in calabashes, which the inhabitants 
said was prepared from bear's fat. Oil of walnuts, " clear 
and of good taste," was found in the possession of the 
natives. They also had a honey-comb which the Christians ) 
had never seen before. It was a pleasant and hospitable 
region, and the army here rested for thirty days. The 
horses had become so jaded by rough and continuous 
marches, and so enfeebled from lack of substantial food, 
that it was absolutely necessary to indulge them in a season 
of quiet. "When they arrived at Chiaha they Avere so worn 
out that they could not carry their riders. They were ac- 
cordingly turned out to graze. So amiable were the natives, 
that although greatly exposed, the Spaniards suffered no 
molestation from them either in their persons or animals. 
Had they, in their unguarded condition, seen fit to set upon 
the Christians they would have been in a bad way to have 
defended themselves. Contrary to the conduct of the 
natives on similar occasions in other localities, the inhabi- 
tants of Chiaha did not abandon their houses upon the 
approach of the army, or during the sojourn of the Span- 
iards. Consequently, the soldiers were quartered beneath 
the trees : — the only house occupied by a European being 
that of the Chief, in which the Governor lodged. 

In response to his repeated inquiries in regard to gold, 
De Soto was here informed that to the north, and in a 
province called Chisca, were mines of copper, and of a 
metal of like color, but finer and brighter. Encouraged by 
this information, confirmatory of what he had been told at 
Cutifachiqui, he dispatched Juan de Villalobos and Fran- 
cisco de Silvera, — two brave soldiers who volunteered for 



38 

the enterprise, — to proceed on foot and, if possible, locate 
these mines. 

After an absence of ten days they returned and reported 
that they had been well received by the natives : that their 
route lay partly through land excellent for grain and pastur- 
age, and again over mountains so rugged that it would not 
be practicable for the army to cross them : that they had 
found among the natives a buffalo hide, an inch thick and 
with hair as soft as sheep's wool ; and lastl}^ that they had 
seen only a fine variety of copper, such as had already been 
met with. From the appearance of the soil, however, they 
thought it not improbable that both gold and silver were 
native to the region. 

While De Soto was awaiting the return of these soldiers, 
the Cacique of Chiaha one day presented him with a string 
of pearls two arms in length. These pearls were as large as 
filberts ; and, had they not been perforated, would have been 
of great value. Thankfully receiving them, De Soto com- 
plimented the Indian with pieces of velvet and cloths of 
various colors, and with other Spanish trifles held in much 
esteem by the natives. Upon inquiry, he learned that these 
pearls had been obtained in the neighborhood, and that in 
the sepulchres of the ancestors of the Cacique many were 
stored. The Governor being curious to see in what manner 
these pearls were extracted from the shells, the Cacique dis- 
patched forty canoes to fish for the oysters during the night. 
"At an early hour next morning a quantity of wood was 
gathered and piled up on the banks of the river, and being 
set on fire was speedily reduced to glowing coals. As soon 
as the canoes arrived, the coals were spread out and the 
oysters were laid upon them. They soon opened with the 
heat, and from some of the first thus opened, the Indians 
obtained ten or twelve pearls as large as peas, which they 



39 

brought to the Governor and Cacique, who were standing 
together looking on. The pearls were of a fine quality, but 
somewhat discolored by the fire and smoke. The Indians 
were prone also to injure these pearls by boring them with a 
heated copper instrument. 

" De Soto having gratified his curiosity, returned to his 
quarters to partake of the morning meal. While eating, a 
soldier entered with a large pearl in his hand. He had 
stewed some oysters, and, in eating them, felt this pearl 
between his teeth. Not having been injured by fire or 
smoke, it retained its beautifal whiteness, and was so large 
and perfect in its form that several Spaniards, who pre- 
tended to be skilled in these matters, declared it would be 
worth four hundred ducats in Spain. The soldier would 
have given it to the Governor to present to his wife, — Dona 
Isabel de Bobadilla, — but De Soto declined the generous 
oflfer, advising the soldier to preserve it until he got to Havana, 
where he might purchase horses and many other things with 
it ; moreover, in reward of his liberal disposition, De Soto 
insisted upon paying the fifth of the value, due to the 
Crown." 

The mussel or oyster here alluded to was doubtless the 
pearl-bearing unio still native to the Etowah and the Oosta- 
naula, and to many other southern streams. At that early 
period these shells were far more numerous than they are at 
present. Artificial shell heaps still attest how industriously 
in that olden time these margatiferous shells were collected 
by primitive peoples, who valued them not only for their 
flesh, but also for the glistening beads they contained, and 
for their iridescent coverings from which various ornaments 
were manufactured. When pounded they were kneaded 
with clay and tended materially to give consistency and 
strength to the pottery of the region. 



40 

The denudation of the banks of these streams, and the 
destruction of extensive forests in reducing wild lands to a 
state of cultivation, have caused marked changes in the 
animal life of the country. 

" Before tliese fields were sliorn and tilled, 
Full to the brim our rivers flowed." 

Limpid then, with constant volumes they pursued their 
accustomed channels. Subsequently, becoming turbid with 
the soil washed from the slopes of a hundred hills, and no 
longer fed with regularity by well shaded and pure springs, 
but at one time enfeebled by drought and at another en- 
gorged by torrents, these streams have, for many years, been 
liable to sudden and violent fluctuations. Multitudes of 
margatiferous unios have consequently been torn from 
their habitats by unruly currents, and imbedded beyond life 
in sand bars and muddy deposits. The stable bottoms upon 
which they rested and multiplied have been rendered both 
uncertain and unwholesome ; and thus it has come to pass 
that a marked extinction of such animal life has ensued. 

A melancholy occurrence which took place while the army 
was at Chiaha is thus narrated by Theodore Irving in his 
" Conquest of Florida :" 

"A cavalier, one Luis Bravo de Xeres, strolling, with lance 
in hand, along a plain bordering on the river, saw a small 
animal at a short distance, and launched his weapon at it. 
The lance missed the mark ; but, slipping along the grass, 
shot over the river bank, Luis Bravo ran to recover his 
lance, but to his horror found it had killed a Spaniard who 
had been fishing with a reed on the margin of the river at 
the foot of the bank. The steel point of the lance had 
entered one temple and come out at the other, and the poor 
Spaniard had dropped dead on the spot. His name was 
Juan Mateos ; he was the only one in the expedition that 



41 

had gray hairs, from which circumstance he was universally 
called father Mateos, and respected as such. His unfortu- 
nate death was lamented by the whole army." 

A month had well nigh elapsed since the arrival of the 
Spaniards at Chiaha. The men were entirely rested and the 
horses were again in good order. The Governor resolved to 
take up the line of march for Co^a on the Coosa river. 
Before leaving, yielding to the importunity of some in his 
command " who wanted more than was in reason," he asked 
from the Cacique thirty women, that he might take them 
with him in the capacity of slaves. The Chief responded 
that he would consult with his principal men. Informed of 
the demand, and before answer had been made to it, the 
inhabitants fled by night from the town, taking their women 
and children with them. Although the Cacique professed 
his regret at the course his people had pursued, and 
acknowledged his inability to control them, the Governor, 
with thirty mounted men and as many foot soldiers, went in 
pursuit of the fugitives. In passing the towns of some of 
the chiefs who had absconded, he cut down and destroyed 
their maize fields. Proceeding along up the stream he 
found the natives congregated upon an island in the river to 
which his cavalry could not penetrate. By an Indian he 
sent them word that if they would return and furnish him 
with some tamemes, he would not disturb their women, 
seeing ia what special afi'ection they were held. Upon this 
assurance they all came back to their homes. 

Parting from the Cacique of Chiaha with kind words, and 
having received from him some slaves as a gift, De 8oto set 
out with his companions down the valley ol the Coosa, and 
was soon, without further incident of moment, beyond the 
confines of the present State of Georgia. He had entered 
this territory early in March, 1540, and departed from it on 
the second day of July in the same year. 



42 

Thus did these mail-clad Spaniards, — the first Europeans 
who traversed the soil of Georgia, beheld the primal 
beauties of her forests, rivers, plains, and mountains, parti- 
cipated in the hospitalities of her primitive peoples, and 
sought but foiind not the treasures hidden within her 
bosom, — disappointed, yet not despairing, pass onward in 
quest of richer native lords and goodlier countries. 

We may not follow them even until that near day when, 
amid the smoke and thunder of battle at Mauvila, they 
barely escaped destruction at the hands of the lion-hearted 
Alibamons. It lies not within our purpose to accompany 
them as, impeded by tangled brake, morass, and stream, 
often pinched by hanger, frequently opposed by the Red 
"Warriors, now buoyed up by hope, again oppressed by 
apprehension, they painfully groped their way through vast 
and unknown regions this side and even beyond the 
Meschachepi. In the end, their golden visions vanished, 
the body of their leader silently and in darkness entombed 
in the Father of Waters, few in numbers and broken in 
spirit, their munitions exhausted, the survivors of this 
famous expedition fled from the land wherein they had gar- 
nered a harvest only of privation, peril, sorrow, mortification 
and death. 



APPENDIX. 



Itinerary of Hernando De Soto, while marching through 
THE Territory of the Modern State of Georgia, as 
contained in the True Relation given by a Fidalgo 
OF Elvas. 

Marcli 3, 1540.— Left Anhaica [Tallahassee, Fla. ?] 
March 7, 1540.— Crossed a deep river [Oclockony ? ] 
March 9, 1540. — Arrived at Capachiqui. 
March 21, 1540.— Came to Toalli. 
March 24, 1540.— Left Toalh. 
March 25, 1540. — Arrived at Achese. 
April 1, 1540. — Departed from Achese. 
April 4, 1540. — Passed through the town of Altamaca. 
April 10, 1540. — Arrived at Ocute. 
April 12, 1540.— Left Ocute. 

Passed through a town whose lord was 
called Cofaqui, and came to the pro- 
vince of another lord named Patofa. 
April 14, 1540. — Departed from Patofa. 
April 20, 1540.— Lost in a pine barren. Six days con- 
sumed in fording two rivers and in 
the effort to find a way of escape. 
April 26, 1540. — Set out for Aymay. 

Reached Aymay before nightfall. 
April 28, 1540. — Departed for Cutifachiqui. 
May 3, 1540.— Left Cutifachiqui. 
May 10, 1540.— Arrived at Chelaque. 
May 15, 1540.— Arrived at Xualla. 
May 20, 1540. — Arrived at Guaxule. 
May 22, 1540. — Ai-rived at Canasagua. 
June 5, 1510. — Arrived at Chiaha. 
July 1, 1540. — Departed from Chiaha. 



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